Teenage grandson counts calories

ANNE MARIE - posted on 01/31/2016
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My 14 year old grandson counts calories, and eats only about 1000 calories a day more or less. He weighs 96 lb 5 ft 1 inches. I told my daughter to call dr, i think he is anorexic. I thought girls were more likely to be anorexic. Anybody with same experience, i like to hearAMB

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Jodi - posted on 01/31/2016

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Actually, that is a mistake many people make - to assume that anorexia is a girl's disease. Boys suffer from it too, but because of stereotypes and misconceptions it often gets missed. In fact, around a quarter of all who suffer from anorexia are males. I have never experienced it, I just wanted to post to let you know that your grandson is not alone.

My dear woman I feel your grandsons pain Sam and anorexic who has been in recovery for 7 years it is a daily struggle I stand 5 foot 9 currently weigh 180 but when I was 17 I weight 346 pounds so I understand it's not necessarily the same circumstances however I do understand anorexia in males I would like to say I have not updated my profile I just made it to respond to some comments made that I highly disagreed with however I am genetically male but I am genderfluid which means I do not identify as male or female and so my daughter does not call me Mom or Dad she settled on calling me bubby I understand this might not be the place for me I could not ignore your situation my friend Daniel stands 5 foot and weighs 90 pounds soaking wet his doctor says he could gain some weight if you wanted but you should not lose any weight for his size I wanted to mention that in regards to your grandsons proportion leper back to the situation at hand anorexia in males is just as common as it is in females it's just not spoken of as frequently there are many pressures being put on children to fit a certain standard of mainstream beauty men have just as many problems with their bodies as women do it just women are more comfortable voicing them men being raised four generations to be more sheltered of their emotions so as to not seem weak in part that is what led me to eating my emotions and then once that got out of hand led me to starve myself almost to death. I was hospitalized due to severe malnutrition and dehydration collapsing in public if you feel your grandson a legitimate eating problem which it is my personal opinion he is on the way to such a condition if not already there then counseling and a check up with his family doctor are in order I read that he has an appointment with a nutritionalist which is all good and well but I would strongly recommend counseling to go along with it if it is self esteem like I said I still battle the day today can not eat in front of people don't go out to eat I'll do take out instead and even then I still limit myself and I have been on a steady diet with a higher nutritional content that I was getting before but I've learned ways to cheat because it was not till more recently that I looked at the root of my problem with a counselor since then I have been more willing to stick to the diet without cheating in ways that are not necessarily less nutritious they are just more filling I know I am rambling its just I I'm trying to say as much as I possibly can the fact that you caught it early just like with anything else is good there are many forms blogs websites your grandson can go to to talk with others who have been in his situation if traditional counseling isn't something he wants to do or isn't practical due to cost however just as effective having a group of support

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ANNE MARIE - posted on 02/03/2016

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Thank you Matthew for taking the time to reply. He does have a doctor appt also. I forgot to mention to everyone is that he is a twin and his brother is like 5 inches bigger, and 30 lbs heavier,but it is this twin that started this calorie counting stuff, to get "abs".He doesnt think he has a problem so i know he wont go to a website and talk to someone even though i agree with you, he needs this badly. I am the mother of 3 daughters and this is my first time dealing with boys, they both are superb baseball players, eating more or less for body building etc. so i agree with you it is society putting presure on them to look like models and athletes. My grandsons name is Daniel, strange coincidence. Ty

Thank you everyone for your replies. To look at him he is way too thin, i hope it is a phase also. He has an appt with a nutritionist, pediatrician to see if there is a problem, all this could be self esteem issue, which again he needs help.

Boys ages 14 to 18 need between 2,200 to 3,200 calories per day. One of the main factors affecting the calorie needs of teenagers is activity level. Teenagers who are not active need to consume fewer calories than those who are more active.

At his age, he should not be worrying about calories. You need to find out why he's so concerned about it, and try to help him have a more healthy opinion of himself.